Ubisoft has decided to halt its Twitter ad campaign for Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, becoming the latest company to withdraw or modify its advertising on the social media platform since Elon Musk assumed control. The VR spin-off, compatible with Meta Quest 2 and 3, was launched less than a week ago, prompting Ubisoft to promote it through a new trailer on Twitter.
The trailer gained significant traction, amassing over 10 million views within a day of its release on Monday, November 20. However, Ubisoft subsequently removed the trailer and suspended its advertising campaign on Twitter. While the exact reason for this decision remains undisclosed, it coincided with Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory as “the actual truth.”
Following Musk’s controversial remarks, several other companies have withdrawn their advertisements from Twitter. This list includes Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, IBM, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Comcast, as reported by Axios. Media Matters also revealed that ads from these companies were displayed alongside toxic posts promoting Nazi ideology. Evidently, Ubisoft and other companies are unwilling to associate their brands with such views and have concluded that advertising on Twitter is currently not worth the risk.
This exodus of companies from Twitter poses a significant challenge for the platform, as advertising constitutes a major source of revenue. Moreover, it may encourage more companies to follow suit. Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino issued a statement on November 17, condemning antisemitism and asserting that it has no place in the world. However, the offensive post to which Musk responded has yet to be removed.
Axios further reported that multiple marketing leaders are calling for Yaccarino’s resignation, citing Musk as someone with whom marketers cannot engage in business.
Source: DOTESPORTS
